Emotional problem

My son, age 5, became very upset yesterday because he ask me to pause a dinosaur movie he was watching and I just stopped the VHS movie.  He started crying and said he would have to watch it all over again.  I stated to he it would start back at the same place, but he would not hear it.  Is it possible my son has obsessive compolsive disorder?

[Rebecca Resnik, PsyD]

Hello,
   Obsessive Compulsive Disorder is a pattern of behaviors and obsessions that are severe enough to interfere with an individual's day to day functioning. Typical child behaviors associated with OCD might be tapping, touching objects, hand washing, lining up toy/foods, or counting rituals. They sometimes feel an intense need to complete rituals without purpose in order to calm themselves. These children also have thoughts they can not 'turn off' such as worries about germs or that they will do something bad. Children with OCD tend to be anxious and rigid. Many times the children recognize that their behaviors or thoughts do not make sense, and want to stop them.

    If that sounds like your son, then I would take him for an evaluation by a psychologist or psychiatrist. Children with OCD are likely to gain significant relief from therapy and potentially medication as well. If the video incident was unusual for your son, it may mean that he was just having a bad day. Sometimes the things we adults think are trivial (like stopping a movie) can be very important to a little child.

Best Wishes
Rebecca Resnik

[Iamamommy2]

A related discussion, OCD in a 6 yr old? was started.